Activists, Acehnese say no to new military operation<\/p>\n
Berni K. Moestafa and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government plans to announce today a new policy to quell
\nthe separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in what many fear might
\nrevive the bloody history of military operations there and extend
\nthe long list of human rights abuses perpetrated against the
\nAcehnese.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the announcement, six bombs exploded on Saturday in a
\nvillage in Jambo Aye district, North Aceh. A GAM official said
\nthat gunfights in the area had killed one civilian and wounded
\ntwo others.<\/p>\n
The surge of violence over the past few months has renewed the
\ngovernment's determination to crush the separatist movement it
\nblames for instigating armed attacks and abducting civilians.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, activists and Acehnese, however, urged the
\ngovernment against resorting to repressive means in handling
\narmed resistance in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.<\/p>\n
"Instituting repressive means reflects the ineptitude of
\nJakarta in coming up with an answer to the Aceh problem," said
\nMunir, a co-founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and
\nVictims of Violence (KONTRAS), which monitors human rights
\nviolations in the troubled province.<\/p>\n
There is concern that the government will impose a state of
\ncivil emergency, which would restrict civil rights and give the
\nmilitary greater control over the province.<\/p>\n
Munir said that the security situation in Aceh had scarcely
\nimproved, but that this did not warrant a reinstatement of the
\nmassive military operations of the past.<\/p>\n
"A state of civil emergency will only spread violence and
\nreinforce calls for independence among locals," he said.<\/p>\n
GAM has been fighting since 1976 for an independent Aceh,
\nwhich is home to rich natural resources, notably natural gas.<\/p>\n
Attempts to crush the group by declaring the province a
\nMilitary Operations Area, or DOM by its Indonesian acronym, in
\n1989 ended 10 years after with deepened resentment against the
\nmilitary and greater calls for independence.<\/p>\n
Activists and Acehnese have blamed the military for most of
\nthe gross human rights violations perpetrated throughout the
\nprovince's 10 years as a Military Operations Area.<\/p>\n
Human rights bodies estimate that some 10,000 have died over
\nthe 25 years of the conflict, most of them civilians.<\/p>\n
A spate of fresh violence, including the kidnapping of local
\nathletes and the crew of a ship owned by the local unit of
\nAmerican oil and gas company ExxonMobil Corp., elicited a sharp
\nresponse from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
An exchange of fire occurred last Saturday, killing one
\ncivilian and wounding two others according to Abu Jamaika, GAM
\nspokesman for the Pasee region.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has urged the military to
\ntake resolute action, while Coordinating Minister for Political
\nand Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono branded GAM a
\nterrorist organization.<\/p>\n
Susilo, who visited Aceh last month to seek input for the new
\npolicy, said he hoped for a peaceful solution, but later added
\nthat more troops should be sent to Aceh. Critics said that the
\nsending of additional troops was tantamount to imposing a de
\nfacto civil emergency.<\/p>\n
"What's the guarantee that if more troops are deployed it will
\nbe safer for us," asked Alyasa Abubakar, who heads the province's
\nsharia office. His office is a product of Aceh's special
\nautonomous status under which the province adopted Islamic law,
\nand which was the government's answer to some Acehnese's demands
\nfor the introduction of sharia.<\/p>\n
Another Acehnese, human rights activist Naimah Hasan, said she
\nbelieved the security situation had improved somewhat compared to
\na year ago.<\/p>\n
"Many people hoist the red and white banner without fear," she
\nsaid, referring to the officially organized custom of displaying
\nthe Indonesian flag ahead of the nation's independence day on
\nAug. 17.<\/p>\n
Student activists over the weekend also protested plans for
\nany policy that gave the military a greater say in the province.<\/p>\n
The Student Coalition for Peace in Aceh (Kamada) said it was
\ndismayed by the government's reluctance to negotiate with GAM,
\nsaying that dialog was the only solution.<\/p>\n
Talks have come to a halt as both sides disagree over the
\npreconditions set by the opposing side for negotiations.<\/p>\n
Activist Munir said the government's favoring of the military
\napproach reflected the succumbing of the politicians to the
\nwishes of the Indonesian Military (TNI).<\/p>\n
The debate over a civil emergency in Aceh had little to do
\nwith the province itself, he said, citing that the security
\nsituation generally remained the same anyway. "What's happening
\nis a power struggle by the military for greater political
\ninfluence in Jakarta."<\/p>\n
Military analysts agreed that the government was treating the
\nTNI more as a political powerhouse than a state institution it
\nmust regulate.<\/p>\n
"It's (military solution) the easiest way for the government
\nto handle the problem, but the ones suffering from this are the
\npeople of Aceh," said Munir.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/activists-acehnese-say-no-to-new-military-operation-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}